The alarm in the command center was still blaring, but Long Wu's communication prompts were cut off by Chu Yao's data stream first.
Su Qing's data body and the terminal's integration degree jumped wildly at the 103% mark, and those originally messy silver light bands suddenly twisted into a DNA double helix structure - this is the most basic encryption feature of the mother nest core protocol.
Lin Yi's Adam's apple bobbed. He remembered that Su Qing had said three days ago that it would take at least three months to get close to this level of access to the system.
"drop--"
Suddenly, the terminal screen emitted a blinding white light, and Su Qing's figure was squeezed into a corner, replaced by dense green code.
Her fingertips were still on the confirmation button, but her hair had already begun to dissipate, like dandelions swept away by the wind: "Decoding...decoding complete." Her voice was as soft as a sigh, but the next second, a list suddenly emerged from the torrent of code, seven dark gold names burning on the holographic screen.
Lin Yi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Those were the seven "Twilight Generals" most valued by Night Owl, each name followed by a stream of fluctuating data—their communication records with Xuanmingzi.
Next to the last name, "Blood Halberd," there was even a red mark indicating "cooperation intention was sent three days ago."
“What a power struggle.” He rested his knuckles on his chin, a cold smile curving his lips. “Night Owl thinks he’s the puppeteer holding the strings, unaware that the strings have already been cut in half.”
Chu Yao's projection suddenly appeared above the list, her fingertip tracing the name "Blood Halberd": "Based on the energy fluctuation analysis of the past seven days, the overlap rate of the mental energy fields of these seven generals has dropped to 32%. Under normal circumstances, this value should be maintained above 85%." Her voice carried an excitement rarely seen in AI, "They are repelling each other."
“Rejection is the right thing to do.” Lin Yi turned around, grabbed the tactical tablet on the table, and quickly pulled up the defense distribution map of the eastern area of the mother hive. “Su Qing, highlight the communication records of ‘Shadow Blade’ and ‘Burning Sky’ in red on this list separately—these two guys just fought in virtual space last week over resource allocation.”
“Marked.” Su Qing’s data body solidified again, this time even the tips of her hair shimmered with a pearly white luster. “Do you need me to implant false information simultaneously? For example… the Alliance possesses the secret technique to purify consciousness seeds?”
Lin Yi's finger paused on the tablet.
The "Seed of Consciousness" is the core method used by Night Owl to control his subordinates; each general has a mental bomb planted in their brain that can be detonated at any time.
If they knew someone could solve this problem...
“Plant it.” He suddenly laughed, a laugh like a bomb disposal expert finally finding the right line. “But don’t be too direct. Leave a vague voice message in ‘Shadow Blade’s’ communicator, saying ‘The amethyst vein in the third warehouse can shield consciousness fluctuations’; send a screenshot to ‘Burning Sky’s’ terminal, showing that there is residual energy from the purification device at the East District Energy Station.”
Chu Yao's projection suddenly split into three, simulating and deducing on three holographic screens: "Shadow Blade's sphere of influence covers the East District Energy Station, and Burning Heaven just seized the mine of the Third Warehouse - they will think that the other party has hidden a purification secret technique."
"Very good." Lin Yi patted the tactical tablet. "Long Wu, how's the clone situation?"
Long Wu's heavy breathing came through the communicator, accompanied by the harsh sound of metal scraping against the background: "Don't worry, boss! That bastard is treating the clone like a personal guard. He just sent him to deliver a battle report to Fen Tian. I'm currently following the clone into the bottom layer of the Mother Nest. Aizen said he found an abandoned dimensional projector that can be disguised as an energy station."
"Dimensional Projector?" Lin Yi's finger gently turned on the spacetime compass, and a three-dimensional image of the bottom layer of the Mother Nest appeared on the compass surface. "Be careful, the radiation from that thing can knock ordinary job changers unconscious on the spot."
“Aizen brought a spiritual pressure amulet!” Ryuu's voice suddenly lowered. “I’m in the ventilation duct right now, and I can see Futen’s guards carrying energy cannons heading towards the East District—damn, they’re really fighting!”
The holographic model of the mother nest was instantly enveloped in red light.
Chu Yao's projection flashed frantically: "Eastern District Defense Matrix Overload! Shadow Blade's mental field and Burning Heaven's fire elemental field are colliding, and the energy fluctuation has exceeded the critical value—"
"boom!"
The glass in the entire command cabin suddenly trembled violently, and a muffled explosion like thunder came from afar.
Lin Yi walked to the window. An orange-red mushroom cloud rose from the direction of the mother nest, and even the sunset was dyed blood red.
He could clearly see the Night Owl's projection flashing wildly at the center of the explosion, and the surrounding consciousness puppets disintegrating like shattered glass figures.
"This is nothing." As he turned around, Aizen's communication request popped up on the tactical tablet. "Speak."
Aizen's image was somewhat distorted, with a crackling sound of electricity in the background: "The base has been established. The dimensional projector's disguise program can block 97% of the mental scans, and the remaining 3% is offset by spiritual pressure interference." He pushed up his frameless glasses, and the gaze behind the lenses was like a knife tempered with ice. "Two patrol teams just passed by, and they didn't even take out their energy detectors."
"Well done." Lin Yi's thumb tapped rapidly on the tablet. "Synchronize the base coordinates with Su Qing, and she will send you the latest intelligence network nodes."
"Wait!" Chu Yao's voice suddenly rose. On the energy flow diagram of the holographic screen, a dark purple spot of light was writhing in the central region of the Mother Nest. "This is... a fragment of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"
Lin Yi's breath hitched.
The Tremor-Tremor Fruit is a legendary ability that can cause spatial tremors and even dimensional collapse. He had seen descriptions of it in ancient books, but he never thought he would encounter fragments in the Mother Nest.
"Energy signature matching rate 92%." Chu Yao's projection moved closer to the light spot. "It's embedded in the heart of the central consciousness, providing Night Owl with a boost to his mental power. If we can seize it..."
“It can turn the tide of the battle.” Lin Yi continued, tapping his knuckles heavily on the table. “Su Qing, mark the location of the fragment; Chu Yao, simulate the capture route; Long Wu, Aizen, your strongholds are located right below the fragment, be ready at any time.”
Before he could finish speaking, the terminal suddenly emitted a crackling electrical sound.
Xuan Mingzi's face appeared on the screen, his hair unusually disheveled, and the snowflakes unique to data entities still lingering at the corners of his eyes: "Key resonance anomaly." His voice was extremely low, as if he were talking about something taboo, "Someone is reverse-tracking its frequency... It's the law enforcement of an advanced civilization; they may have discovered Lin Yi's identity."
The temperature in the command cabin seemed to drop by twenty degrees Celsius instantly.
Lin Yi's fingers unconsciously caressed the time-space compass, the metal surface becoming warm from the friction.
He could hear his own heartbeat, one beat, two beats, like war drums urging him to battle.
“So what if we’re exposed?” He suddenly laughed, a laugh more intense than the explosion of the hive. “They thought they could be the referees, but from the day they awakened to be the masters of space and time—” His gaze swept across the hive model on the holographic screen, across Su Qing’s data body, across Chu Yao’s pulsating projection, and finally landed on the darkening sky outside the window. “The rules of this game should have been set by me long ago.”
A sigh came from the terminal, mixed with static: "Be careful, Lin Yi, they're more..."
Communication was suddenly interrupted.
Lin Yi stared at the black screen of the terminal and pressed his hand to his chest.
There was a pale gold badge there, the symbol of the ruler of time and space, which was now slightly warm with his heartbeat.
“Long Wu.” He picked up the tactical tablet again. “Have the clone change the battle report to ‘Shadow Blade colluded with the alliance and has acquired the Purification Technique’; Aizen, add triple spiritual pressure protection to the base; Chu Yao, focus on monitoring the energy fluctuations of the central consciousness; Su Qing…” He turned to look at the girl in the data body with a light pink hue, “I’ll trouble you to hold on a little longer and pinpoint the location coordinates of the fragments to the centimeter.”
Su Qing smiled, and a few wisps of cherry blossoms floated in the data stream: "I can dismantle ten more locks."
Night fell completely outside the window, but the explosions coming from the direction of the Mother Nest grew more and more frequent.
Lin Yi stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his shadow stretched long by the light, overlapping with the projection of the Mother Nest on the holographic screen.
He gazed at the flickering firelight in the distance and suddenly recalled the scene three days ago when he awakened in the newbie village—back then, he didn't even dare to open the skill bar.
Now, however, he is about to personally overturn this game of advanced civilization.
“Chu Yao.” His voice carried a certain gentle certainty. “Let’s name the plan to seize the ‘Tremor-Tremor Fruit Fragment’ ‘Breaking the Game’.”
"Named." Chu Yao's projection gave a crisp military salute. "Should we synchronize this to all members?"
“No.” Lin Yi turned and walked toward the tactical sand table, his fingertips tracing the explosion point in the eastern part of the Mother Nest. “Let Night Owl taste the bitterness of internal strife first. When their defenses are loose enough to fit a needle—” he pressed his fingertips heavily on the central consciousness, “we’ll pierce their heart.”
The terminal suddenly vibrated; it was a live feed from Long Wu: the clone was delivering the battle report of "Shadow Blade's Collusion with the Alliance" to Fen Tian, whose pupils instantly contracted to pinpoints.
The next second, the sound of porcelain shattering could be heard on the screen, and the energy cannon of Burning Sky was already aimed at Shadow Blade.
Lin Yi stared at the chaos on the screen and took out the Time Compass from his pocket.
The pointer was spinning wildly, pointing to the location of the Mother Nest's central hub—there, the light from the fragments of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit was penetrating layers of defense, leaving an imprint on his retina.
“This play,” he said softly, his gaze sharp as a sword tempered with starlight, “has only just begun.”
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